[unreadable] Over the past five years, the New Jersey Medical School has successfully followed its strategic plan to aggressively expand its research programs. NIH funding has close to tripled since 1998. The School's current initiative is to develop a Cancer Center that will house basic and clinical research as well as outpatient treatment programs. The University and the Medical School have committed funds for construction of a new 185,000 sq ft building and the recruitment of additional faculty who will pursue basic and translational research. Construction of the building is now under way with an anticipated completion date in December 2005. [unreadable] [unreadable] The long-term objectives of this proposal are to: [unreadable] *Develop research animal facilities to adequately support all of our funded research programs [unreadable] *Create an environment that will enable a cadre of funded researchers to develop interdisciplinary programs that target cancer; encompassing bench research in the molecular biology of cancer, molecular mechanisms of gene expression and cell growth control, in vivo experimentation, and its translation into clinical treatment regimens [unreadable] *Provide adequate space and resources to train PhD and MD/PhD graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and residents pursuing training programs [unreadable] [unreadable] As a medical school with an Hispanic Center of Excellence, we are requesting $4 million in matching funds toward the construction of a 19,545 gross square foot Mouse Barrier Facility in the UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School Cancer Center (Cancer Center). These funds will be used exclusively for the purpose of constructing (in uninhabited shell space, currently under construction) a Mouse Barrier Research Facility for use by investigators whose laboratories are housed in the Cancer Center. No funds are sought for basic science research laboratories or any clinical areas in the Cancer Center. [unreadable] [unreadable]